Some of you may remember my little post where I talked a little about Swag Bucks… well I am here to help any of you with questions. Also, I wanted to do this post so I can refer to this post when people ask me what all the Swag Bucks business is about. 
What is Swag Bucks? You can get FREE stuff just for surfin’ the web and using the Swag Bucks search engine! Sound too good to be true? Well, it is TRUE! 
How fabulous is that?! Simply by changing over to using the Swag Bucks search engine, you could earn free stuff - like Amazon gift cards (my fave prize). Swag Bucks will randomly reward you as you use their search engine. You are rewarded with virtual dollars that can be redeemed for awesome prizes in their Swag Store. It’s FUN and EASY and FREE! When you sign up, you’ll get 30 Swag Bucks to start!
How do I win Swag Bucks? The main way to earn SBs is to earn them while searching. Just switch from Google (or whatever search engine you use) over to the SB search engine and you’ll be winning in no time! You will not win on every search - the wins are random. I generally win about 2-3 times per day and win any amount from 5 to 50 SBs (you can win bigger amounts, but I haven’t won any amount over 50 yet). Sometimes rather than typing a web address into my browser (places I go every now and then but aren’t in my bookmarks), I’ll search for the website first and get to the site that way (i.e. rather than typing in www.gap.com to get to GAP, I will search “gap” and follow the link from the search results). I win quite often by doing that!
You can also earn SBs by finding Swag Codes. Codes are put out about once a day (sometimes more). Codes can be found on their blog, Twitter, Facebook page, in the Swidget, toolbar, or newsletter. The EASIEST way to find out when a Swag Code is out is to fan Coupons and Freebies Mom on Facebook - if you sign onto FB frequently. They will alert you when a code is out. Each swag code is only available for a limited time and is usually only active a couple hours.
You can also earn a little each day by having their toolbar installed - plus having it installed will help you search for things quickly when you need to! Another part of my daily routine is to go through the NOSOs (no obligation special offers) on their Special Offers page. I just hit skip/next/no thanks on all of them and at the end earn a SB. You can also answer their daily poll for 1 SB/day. AND if you merely visit the “Trusted Surveys” page, you’ll also earn 1 SB each day! All four of these (toolbar, NOSOs, poll, and trusted surveys) add up to 4 SBs per day. But getting them every day certainly helps and it only takes a minute to earn those!
A fun way to earn a little extra is to check out their Shop & Earn section if you’ve got some shopping to do online. I do NOT shop in order to earn more SBs - but I do like earning SBs for shopping I was going to do anyway! You can earn 2 SBs for every dollar you spend at a Shop & Earn store! Stores that I shop at every so often and are in the Shop & Earn section are: Payless Shoes, The Children’s Place (WOOT!!!), Walmart, Target, iTunes, etc. There are lots of other good stores like Aeropostale, Macy’s, and Banana Republic. You can even book your next vacation through a place like Expedia and earn SBs since they are in the Shop Earn section! You must use the link from SBs to get to the store, or you won’t get credit (and it takes like a month for the SBs to credit to your account). I shop at The Children’s Place and Target online quite often as I live in a small town where Walmart is practically the only retailer. I love to hit up the sale section at The Children’s Place every couple months and now that I can earn SBs by doing shopping I was going to do anyways makes it even sweeter!
How much can I earn each month? This varies a lot. The first month that I did Swag Bucks, I earned enough SBs to redeem $15 in Amazon GCs. Not too shabby for just switching my search engine, right?! I was THRILLED! Then I learned the power of REFERRALS! If you refer someone using your referral link, you will receive SBs each time your referral(s) win SBs by searching (you won’t receive matching SBs when a referral gets a swag code - only wins from searches). You will receive matching SBs up to 1,000 SBs PER referral! So, if you aren’t signed up yet, I’d LOVE if you used my referral link! Not only will you be winning free stuff, but you’ll be helping me out too! Then make sure you spread the word and get your friends to sign up with your referral link so you can earn BIG!
I started picking up referrals a few weeks after I started using Swag Bucks. It took me about a week and a half without referrals to earn enough SBs for a $5 Amazon GC, but now I earn about 200-250 SBs PER DAY with all my referrals! I currently have about 13 active referrals (and about 21 who aren’t active). Imagine how quickly that adds up with $5 GCs only costing 450 SBs each! You are, however, limited to only redeeming any prize up to 5 times per month. So, I can only redeem five $5 Amazon GCs each month, then I have to wait until I have enough SBs to snag a $25 or $50 GC.
Can I use more than one Amazon GC on a purchase in the Amazon store? YES!!! Around the 1st and 17th of each month, your gift cards will be posted to you SBs account. You take the GC code and input it into your Amazon account. You can stack these GCs in your account until you’ve got enough to buy whatever you like from Amazon! You can even use the GC balance to cover the cost of shipping if you need to! COOL BEANS!
Can EVERYONE use Swag Bucks? Unfortunately, no. Right now I believe it’s only available to residents in the US, Canada, and UK. I don’t think UK residents can snag the Amazon GCs though. 
Canadians can snag the Amazon GCs - for Amazon.com OR Amazon.ca. Right now the Amazon.com GCs say that they are “available to US and Canadian residents only.“ EDIT: There is now a Amazon.co.uk gift card in the Swag Store!
That’s all I can think of right now. If you have a question, please post a comment! I’d be happy to answer it and may even include it in this post! You can also check out the FAQs at Swag Bucks to learn more!
Now go forth and search the web - and win free stuff! 
NOTE: This post contains my referral link to Swag Bucks - but I wouldn’t recommend something I didn’t love!
Tags: swag bucks, swagbucks
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You stinker! Quit getting me hooked on these things!
I signed up with your referral link and got the 30 starter bucks. Around my 7th search, I won 12 bucks, so I guess you should get the matching bucks on that. I don’t plan to do anything but use it as my search engine, but it should add up eventually.
Thanks Tricia!
Hi Megan, After missing the toolbar code yesterday when I was AT the computer (UGH!), I signed up for SMS alerts from swidgetwatch on my cell phone. You just text “follow swidgetwatch” to 40404. I’m tired of missing the easy codes–lol. I’m up to over 300 swag bucks in a week with mostly just searching (besides the sign up bonus).
Thanks for all the info, Megan! It really helps a lot!
After resisting the first few times you mentioned this, I finally gave in two weeks ago today. I think, as of today, I’ve earned 368 SB’s on searches alone - which means you have too!! I’ve already earned a total of 3 $5 Amazon gift cards and just want to say THANK YOU!!
Megan,
Do the swag bucks points roll over each month or do you have to redeem them in the swag bucks store each month? My plan is to save points until I can get a $50 amazon gift card but because I am a beginner at all this internet stuff it may take me a while. Or would you recommend redeeming smaller giftcards and saving them up. Eventually I want this cute comforter set thru amazon but it is like $200.
i just joined! fantastic!
xoxo
i joined, not sure if you got credit though
[...] With Swag Bucks, you basically just change your search engine to theirs and you will randomly be awarded virtual money that you can redeem for REAL prizes in their Swag Store! I always redeem my Swag Bucks for Amazon gift cards. You can stack these gift cards in your Amazon account and then buy whatever you like from Amazon with them! I started in March and so far I’ve redeemed $290 in Amazon gift cards – and they were completely FREE! I “bought” a Flip HD camcorder, tripod, and remote shutter release for my camera with my free gift cards and now I’m saving up for a new lens! It is completely legit and it works! They also have a referral program and when you refer someone, you will get matching SBs whenever a referral wins SBs through searching (up to 1,000 SBs per referral). Read up more on Swag Bucks here. [...]